


A real CATastrophe

by yogini



Series: Magical mishaps and other Merlinian shenanigans [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Animal Transformation, Bromance, Fluff and Crack, Fluffy fourlegged feline Arthur, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Humor, Magic, Magic Revealed, Mittens - Freeform, Shapeshifting, Spells & Enchantments, cat!Arthur, general weirdness, spell gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 01:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yogini/pseuds/yogini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin accidentally turns Arthur into a cat...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Catastrophic consequences

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mordreds Mistake](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2077662) by [ForTheLoveOfFangirling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForTheLoveOfFangirling/pseuds/ForTheLoveOfFangirling). 



> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin accidentally turns Arthur into a cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

“Merlin? What happened? Why are you staring at me?” Arthur felt a bit dizzy but otherwise fine and he couldn’t understand why Merlin just stood there, looking completely gobsmacked. “Have I grown a tail or what is the matter _Merlin_?” Merlin opened his mouth and Arthur expected an explanation, not the high-pitched, slightly hysterical laughter that Merlin let out.  
“Well, as a matter of fact…” Merlin stared to say before he began to laugh again. Arthur huffed impatiently and crossed his arms. Or he would have, if he could. He looked down his chest and was perplexed when he saw golden fur and four paws _and was that an actual tail?_  
“Merlin!”  
“I am so sorry, sire” Merlin said but the rueful expression on his face was somewhat less plausible than what it could have been when he had to wipe tears of laughter from his cheeks. “It seems something went wrong with the potion and…”  
“Yes, Merlin, I guessed as much because _I’ve turned into a bloody cat_!” Arthur interrupted him, screaming the last part of the sentence. Merlin couldn’t help but to snigger at the sight of Arthur panicking, or the sounds that he made. He could somehow hear Arthur’s voice telepathically but at the same time Arthur also let out all sorts of cat noises, meowing and whining.  
“Stop it Merlin, this is a catastrophe!” he yelled desperately but that only resulted in Merlin howling with laughter again.  
“Yes sire, it’s very much a **_cat_** astrophe.”

Finally Merlin managed to compose himself and assess the situation. He quickly came to the conclusion that they needed Gaius’ help., but before they had time to go get him the doors to the royal chambers opened and Gwen entered.  
“Gwen, hi” Merlin said surprised.  
“Hi Merlin” she answered brightly. “I just came to deliver this.” She held up a scroll of parchment and went to put it on Arthur’s desk. When she saw the cat sitting there she smiled delightedly and reached forward to pet it.  
“Merlin, he’s absolutely adorable.”  
“Don’t let her pet me, don’t let her pet me” Arthur said frantically but to Gwen it only sounded like cute meowing and she started stroking the soft fur on Arthur’s head. At first he leaned in to her touch purring but then he realized what he was doing and jerked his head abruptly away from her hand.  
“Stop her!” he hissed furiously to Merlin, tail swishing in annoyance.  
“He’s a bit moody” Merlin explained to a slightly confused looking Gwen.  
“That’s a shame” she said, a little disappointed, and turned to leave. “I’ll see you later, Merlin.”  
“Right, let’s go to Gaius before anyone else walks in here” Arthur said and jumped off the table. Merlin bent down to pick him up and Arthur tried to squirm away but couldn’t because Merlin grabbed him firmly by the scruff of the neck. He let out a very non-kingly whine.  
“Let me down this instant!”  
“It’s safer like this, sire” he explained but Arthur wouldn’t listen and when Merlin was busy opening the door, Arthur took his chance and wriggled out of Merlin’ arms.

He only got a few steps down the hall before two young serving maids fell to their knees, cooed and tried to pet him.  
“On second thought, pick me up, pick me up!” Arthur scrambled desperately to get out of reach from the girls and ended up hiding under a cupboard before Merlin told him the girls were gone and he carefully came out.  
“Why don’t you ever listen to me, sire?” Merlin sighed. “Now will you let me carry you?” Arthur reluctantly approached him and allowed Merlin to pick him up.  
“But don’t pet me!” Arthur said warningly. Merlin just rolled his eyes.  
“Come along then, Mittens.”

“Merlin? Gaius looked a little surprised when he entered the room, carrying the large ginger cat. “What is that?”  
“This Gaius, is His Royal Highness the king of **_Cat_** elot” Merlin snickered. Arthur hissed, ears flattened to the head.  
“Not funny, _Merlin_!” Gaius raised an eyebrow.  
“You turned the king into a cat, Merlin?” he said in disbelief.  
“Well, I didn’t mean to” Merlin answered and put Arthur down on the table.  
“I bloody well hope not!” Arthur snarled.  
“I need your help Gaius, I really can’t make _heads or tails_ of this” Merlin continued and Arthur glared at him.  
“Oh _meow_ god, it seems you’ve made a bit of a mistake there, Merlin.” Gaius smirked and Arthur groaned.  
“Not you too, Gaius.” Both of them laughed at him and Arthur scampered off to sulk in a corner.

Then he suddenly became aware of a delicious smell emerging from one of the baskets on the floor. Merlin and Gaius were busy looking through books and discussing so Arthur snuck closer and started to rummage through the contents with his paws.  
“Oi, stop that!”  
“Let go of my tail _at once”_ Arthur demanded annoyed.  
“You’re messing up all the herbs in the basket, what are you doing?”  
“It smells so good.” Arthur tried to dive back in.  
“Oh no, you don’t. Get out of there.” Merlin tried to get a hold of Arthur again.  
“Must. Have. It” Arthur whined when he was caught and lifted away from the basket.  
“Gaius, we need to take away that catnip right now” Merlin said. Gaius hurried to put the herbs away in Merlin’s room.

Once the herbs were gone Arthur calmed down considerably.  
“Right, you can let me go now, Merlin” he said, slightly embarrassed and very annoyed, both with himself and the situation as a whole.  
“Silly little Mittens” Merlin said, patting his head, narrowly avoiding getting scratched.

At last, Gaius and Merlin managed to find a solution (a _purrfect_ one as Merlin put it and Arthur just happened to accidently scratch his arm) and Arthur returned to his normal, non-furry self, with a deep sigh of relief. 

“No one will ever hear about this, is that understood?” Arthur said sternly.  
“Yes, sire.”  
“And we will never speak of this again, is that clear Merlin?”  
“Not even a _whisker_ , I mean whisper, sire.”

 


	2. A nasty surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur wakes up to a less than pleasant surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

”Rise and shine!” Merlin sounded way more cheerful than anyone should have the right to be at this ungodly time of the day in Arthur’s opinion. He grimaced as his manservant noisily stumbled through the room, placed some breakfast on the table with a clatter of plates and then went over to the window to pull the curtains. Bright sunlight suddenly shone into the room and Arthur pulled the covers over his head with a groan.  
“Up you get, sire” Merlin said, grabbing the covers and starting to pull them off. Arthur let out a muffled string of curses and yanked them back. Then he turned on his side and mumbled something. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that, sire.”  
“I don’t feel so good today.” Merlin didn’t look too worried.  
“You’ve already tried that excuse, sire. Now let’s get you up.” He tugged at the covers again and to his surprise Arthur didn’t stop him. He frowned, took a closer look and realized that Arthur did in fact really not look too well. He was flushed, shivered and clutched a hand to his stomach. Merlin was a bit alarmed now and put a hand to his brow to check his temperature. Arthur’s skin was hot and clammy and confirmed that Arthur did indeed have a fever. Merlin didn’t get a chance to get some of Gaius’ medicines before Arthur started coughing deeply, heaved himself over the edge of the bed and retched, Merlin narrowly managing to jump out of the way. 

When Arthur had finished and limply slumped back against his pillows Merlin went to get him a cup of water and a rag to wipe his mouth with. Returning, he grimaced at the sight of the mess on the floor, knowing only too well that he’d be the one cleaning it up. When he passed the water to Arthur he saw something odd. 

“Sire, is that what I think it is?” Merlin asked carefully.   
“Stop talking in riddles, Merlin. What do you mean?” Arthur snarled and Merlin fought down the sharp reply he had right at the tip of his tongue. Even if Arthur was being a downright prat, he was still sick and both Gaius and his mother had taught him better than to upset a patient.  
“That thing on the floor, sire” Merlin elaborated. Arthur rolled his eyes.   
“And what would that be, _Merlin_?” he asked impatiently.   
“A hairball, sire.” Arthur paled as he considered the implications of this.  
“I’ll get Gaius straight away:” Merlin was out of the room in the blink of an eye. 

Of course Gaius was away; today of all days some woman had decided to give birth and have complications and Gaius had gone to assist the midwife. Wouldn’t she have chosen any other day than today Merlin angrily wondered as he rushed back to Arthur’s chambers, carrying various vials and with one of Gaius’ books hidden under his tunic. Slightly out of breath he tore into the room, only to find it empty.

“Arthur?” Merlin looked around, it was in the exact same state as he’d left it, except for the fact that Arthur’s bed was unoccupied. Dropping everything that he was holding onto the bed and hiding the book in a cupboard, Merlin then proceeded to turn the whole room upside down. Still no Arthur. Panicking Merlin turned on his heel and ran towards the knights chambers.

 “Arthur’s gone!” he blurted out without preamble. Gwaine looked up surprised.  
“What do you mean, gone?”  
“Gone as in not here, not where he should be, not where I know!”  
“Aha, that kind of gone” Gwaine mused, leaning back into his chair.  
“Not funny Gwaine, please help me find him” Merlin said desperately, frantically pacing the room and gesturing wildly, and that was what made the seriousness of the situation dawn on Gwaine.  
“Tell me what happened” he said as he quickly got to his feet and made for the door.   
“No, wait!” Gwaine paused, looking confused. “I have to tell you something first” Merlin continued, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. “And you can’t tell anyone else about this.” Gwaine nodded and Merlin took a deep breath.  
“I-have-magic-and-I-enchanted-Arthur-and-the-spell-went-wrong-and-now-he’s-gone-and-I-can’t-find-him-and-please-don’t-hate-me” he blurted.   
Gwaine struggled to make sense of what he’d just heard as Merlin watched him anxiously.  
  
“You have magic?” he finally asked.  
“Yes.” Merlin’s voice was barely audible.  
“And you’ve messed up a spell?”  
“Yes.”  
“And now Arthur’s gone?”  
“Yes. But he’s not really _Arthur_ anymore.”  
“What?” Gwaine looked perplexed.  
"Well, he is but not really” Merlin tried to explain. “Listen Gwaine, it’s complicated and we don’t have time right now. Please trust me?”   
Gwaine looked steadily at him for a second and then he nodded.  
“All right.” Merlin shoulder’s visibly relaxed and he exhaled deeply, a small smile on his lips.  
“But when this is over you owe me the whole story.” Gwaine added, mock-sternly.  
“Of course.” Merlin acquiesced, relief and gratitude clearly visible on his face as his smile went from hesitant to radiant. “Thank you.”  
“Right then, what do I look for?” Gwaine asked.  
“A large ginger cat.”  
Gwaine roared with laughter.


	3. MMIA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King of Camelot goes MMIA (Mittens Missing In Action)…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

Gwaine and Merlin searched through the whole castle and still there was no sign of Arthur. Merlin was worried sick and just couldn’t understand how this had happened. Allegedly, he’d made a mistake but they’d managed to get Arthur back to his normal self and there was just no logical explanation as to why he was suddenly turned back into a cat again. If only he’d had Gaius to ask, or at least some time to sit down and look through some of his books. But no, he had to run around the whole of Camelot to find a missing cat, that he had absolutely no idea what to do with, even if he found him. He was already starting to get questions on the whereabouts of the king and he was running out of excuses. It was only thanks to the fact that Gwaine was a much better liar than Merlin that they managed to get Leon off their backs, and the knight still didn’t look totally convinced. 

At last they returned to Arthur’s chambers. Merlin really had no idea where to look anymore and he needed to get the book back to Gaius’ study before anyone found it.   
“I’ll be right back” he told Gwaine, tucked the book under his jacket and left. Gwaine decided he might as well make himself comfortable and stretched out on Arthur’s bed. After all, it wasn’t as if the king was around to see what he did. He closed his eyes for a moment and allowed himself to sink into the soft mattress. Then he heard a small rustle and his muscles tensed. Before he had the time to react, something a bit heavy, rather furry and very angry landed on his belly.   
“Ow!” Gwaine managed to get out before he had to throw his arms up to protect his face from Arthur’s claws. “Hey, Mittens lay it off!”   
If that was supposed to calm the angry monarch-turned-cat down it didn’t have the desired effect as Arthur gave a displeased yowl and attacked with renewed forces. Apparently he wasn’t all too fond of his new title and Gwaine wondered if it would’ve gone down better if he’d added a “sir” as well. Unfortunately Arthur didn’t seem to like that either and Gwaine cursed loudly at the long scratch that appeared on his forearm.

At last he managed catch Arthur by the scruff of the neck and wrap a blanket around him. Arthur was very much the spitting, hissing and loudly meowing image of a very displeased cat but he wouldn’t scratch Gwaine anymore and he valued his health higher than Arthur’s sense of dignity at the moment. At the sound of someone entering the room Gwaine looked up and his attention slipped momentarily. Arthur took his chance to wriggle free, bolted and disappeared somewhere behind the privacy screen next to the wardrobe. 

“Merlin?” Gwaine said as Merlin entered the room, looking tired and worse for wear. “I’ve found him.”  
“Where?” Merlin seemed to snap back into action, looked around the room.   
“Somewhere in here.” Gwaine made a vague gesture around the room and Merlin promptly went to close the door, then at an afterthought he also bolted it. There would be some serious explaining going on in this room and he rather no one was around to listen to that conversation. 

“Arthur? Where are you?”  
“Meow.” Two large yellow eyes peered out from under a drawer.  
“Come on, get out of there.”   
“Yes princess, come on, show your pretty face” Gwaine added teasingly and Arthur hissed, ears flattened to his head.  
“Gwaine, really?” Merlin shot the knight a disapproving look. “Arthur, come on.”  
“Really Merlin, out of all people that you could possibly bring, you choose Gwaine?” Arthur sounded both annoyed and embarrassed, still refusing to come out.   
“I had to tell the one I asked for help about my magic, sire, and I knew Gwaine wouldn’t...”   
“… wouldn’t have him thrown in the dungeons, or allow anyone else to do it either” Gwaine interrupted, moving to stand protectively in front of Merlin. Arthur was silent for a moment, then sighed and padded over to Merlin, still glaring a bit at Gwaine.  
“Don’t you dare call me Mittens again” he threatened as he jumped up to sit on his desk but the effect was somewhat lessened due to the fact that all Gwaine heard was a series of meows.

“Can you hear what he says?” Merlin asked Gwaine.  
“Meow?”   
“No, like when he talks telepathically” Merlin tried to explain.  
“All that mead that he keeps pouring down his throat has probably muddled his mind to the point where he can’t hear his own thoughts anymore” Arthur said irritated as Gwaine shook his head.   
“Be nice” Merlin chastised him. “You know how the druids can speak to each other in their minds?” he asked, turning back to Gwaine who nodded. “That’s what it sounds like to me.”  
“Yeah, what’s he saying then?” Gwaine asked and Merlin winced.  
“That you should shut up because he wants me to explain myself” Merlin answered, shoulders slumping slightly as he sunk down into a chair. “And I guess I should.”  
“For once I agree with the princess” Gwaine said, pulling up a chair for himself. “Let’s hear it then.” 

So Merlin talked and talked, and he told Gwaine everything. About how he was supposed to make a potion that would disguise Arthur so that he could go to a meeting incognito, how something went wrong and he turned into a cat, how Gaius found a solution and how they thought everything was right again. About how Arthur had been sick this morning and now somehow had turned back into a cat. About his magic, how Arthur had found out and why they’d kept it a secret from everyone else. About their work to lift the ban on magic in the future. Arthur had been uncharacteristically patient throughout the whole of Merlin’s story but now he interrupted and started pacing back and forth on top of his desk, tail swishing.  
“And as much as it would be lovely to continue like this for the rest if the night, I very much would like you to start finding me a cure!”   
“I guess I could give you the same thing as Gaius did last time but…” Merlin said hesitantly.  
“Yes?” Arthur prompted, ears pricked up and whiskers shivering impatiently.   
“I don’t think that it’ll work, because he gave you something to neutralize the effects of the potion. But this time this didn’t happen because of a potion, I need to find out what caused it.” Merlin looked apologetically at Arthur who slumped in disappointment, drooping from his nose to the tip of his tail.   
“Then. Get. To. It.” Arthur spat out between gritted teeth.


	4. Secrets and lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are hard to keep…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

The rest of the night they spent going through pile after pile of old dusty books to find a cure. At some point Arthur had fallen asleep on top of the volume that he was reading and at the sight of the ginger cat, head resting comfortably on his front paws, Gwaine smiled and nudged Merlin with his elbow.   
“He’s a lot cuter like this, isn’t he?” Arthur’s eyes flew open.  
“I am not cute” he hissed furiously.   
“Whatever you say, Mittens” Gwaine shrugged nonchalantly and then had to jump out of the way when Arthur launched at him. “Easy there now, almost caught me.”  
“Cute apart from the claws” Merlin said conversationally, put a hand on Gwaine’s arm and murmured a quick healing spell.   
“Apart from that, yeah” Gwaine agreed, eyes a little wide as he saw the cut disappear as if it never had been there. Arthur scampered off to lie down in front of the fire and sulk, making sure to deliberately turn his back on the two others. 

The sun rose the next morning and still they weren’t any nearer a cure. Arthur’s mood was worse than ever and he almost bit Gwaine who (not so) accidentally stepped on his tail in revenge for the fact that Arthur licked his face to wake him up. It didn’t help that Merlin and Gwaine had contentedly munched on his delicious breakfast, while he got served a bowl of milk, but Gwaine had insisted that Merlin should get Arthur’s breakfast as usual to avoid suspicion, even if he couldn’t eat it himself. To add to the tense mood they were really running out of excuses to tell people and Arthur’s patience soon snapped.

“Come on, Merlin, even you can’t be this useless” Arthur snarled.   
“Hey!” Gwaine intervened. “He’s doing his best.”  
“Well it’s not good enough, you bloody idiot!”  
“Whoa, Mittens, if it was up to me you could stay like that forever” Gwaine retorted, shooting a foul glare at the cat.   
“Enough!” Merlin shouted. “I can’t think with the two of you bickering like this. Gwaine, thanks for defending me, Arthur, I’m doing what I can.” Arthur still looked angry. “Please, I’m trying to help you, I’m doing everything I can, and it’s just that something like this has never happened before…” Arthur’s anger melted away under Merlin’s imploring look.  
“I know, I’m sorry” Arthur turned his head to look at Gwaine. “Tell Gwaine I said sorry, will you?”  
“Gwaine, Arthur says he’s sorry.”  
“Yeah, me too. Probably would’ve done the same if I woke up as a cat.” They settled back in a comfortable silence and continued browsing for a cure when Arthur suddenly broke the silence again. 

“What if I’m stuck like this forever?”  
“You won’t be” Merlin reassured him, tossing aside the book he’d just finished and opening the next one with grim determination. “We’ll find a cure.”  
“And even if we don’t, I promise that I’ll hit anyone that even tries to laugh at you” Gwaine said. “Except Percival” he added thoughtfully, “because he’s too big for me to take on.” Arthur huffed out a laugh/meow and went back to reading, feeling encouraged and slightly better about the whole situation. Of course they would figure something out, they always did. He felt his muscles relax and, wait, was that him purring? Horrified he tried to stop the content sound that emerged from his throat and looked up quickly to see if the others had heard. If they had they tactfully didn’t let it show and Arthur gratefully continued to read. They had to do something, preferably before he started licking himself. Arthur shuddered at the thought.

A knock on the door broke their concentration a couple of hours later. At last they’d made some progress, Merlin had found a chapter that looked promising but he needed Gaius help to translate most of it. But it was something and greatly improved the mood on everyone involved.   
“Who is it?” Merlin asked cautiously.   
“It’s Gwen. Why have you locked the door?”  
“Ah, well…” Merlin started and looked at Gwaine for suggestions.   
“Tell her you’re ill” Gwaine whispered quickly.  
“I don’t feel so well.”  
“Oh no, poor you.” Gwen sounded concerned. “Do you need anything?”  
“No, no it’s fine” Merlin answered hastily before he realized what he’d just said. “I mean it’s not fine since I’m ill but I’m fine enough that I don’t need anything, you know?” He babbled nervously and Gwaine gestured for him to shut up.  
“All right” Gwen said puzzled. “I’ll come back some other time then. Have you seen Gwaine by the way?”   
“No, I mean, yes, he’s here” Merlin said frantically. “And he’s also ill. Don’t come in, we don’t want you to get ill too. It’s really bad. But not so bad that we need help so don’t worry about that.” Gwen was quiet for a while.   
“I guess I’ll see both of you later then” she finally said, sounding unconvinced, and they could hear her footsteps fade away.   
“You are just the worst liar ever Merlin” Arthur couldn’t help but say and Merlin pulled his tail in retaliation, happy to have found at least one good thing with the mess they were in. Arthur yowled angrily and demonstratively sat on his tail to keep it out of Merlin’s reach, which sent Gwaine into a fit of laughter and promptly earned him another scratch from Arthur’s claws. 

Before long, Gwen was back at the door and she’d brought reinforcements this time. Merlin’s strange behaviour and Gwaine’s disappearance didn’t add up and she went to speak to Leon, who immediately grew suspicious. Every time that he’d asked for Arthur, Merlin or Gwaine had given some weird explanation for the king’s mysterious absence and he couldn’t help but think that they may have something to with it. He asked Elyan and Percival to come with them and all four of them then headed to Gaius’ chambers.   
“Merlin, let us in” Leon ordered sternly after he’d knocked. On the other side of the door he could hear something heavy drop to the floor with a large thud, frantic whispering and people running back and forth.   
“Ah, just a minute, Leon” Merlin called out. “I just need to… ow!” By the sounds of it, Merlin had run into a chair and knocked it over. Leon knocked again, harder.  
“Open up right this instant!” he barked but he door stayed closed and Leon nodded to Percival. It only took one hit from his massive shoulder for the bolt to break and the door swung open to reveal Gwaine and Merlin frantically running around, trying to put away a large amount of books.   
“What are you doing?” They stopped dead in their tracks at Leon’s question.   
“We were just… cleaning?” Merlin said hesitantly.   
“Yes, cleaning, that’s what we’re doing” Gwaine filled in. “Gaius asked us to clean his chambers for him while he was away and that’s exactly what we’re doing, nothing else.” The other knights looked at each other, and Gwen, in disbelief.   
“I thought you were ill?” Gwen asked almost accusingly and Merlin blushed furiously.   
“Yes, well…” he began but Gwaine interrupted him.  
“We were, but now we’re feeling better so we decided to help Gaius a bit.” 

Realizing that they weren’t getting anywhere, Leon decided to try a different approach.  
“Where is Arthur?” he asked brusquely. Merlin and Gwaine looked at each other and then the two of them began to speak at the same time.  
“He’s ill” Merlin said, while Gwaine blurted out: “He’s at the tavern.” Leon didn’t look too impressed with their respective explanations but before he could do anything, Merlin turned his head towards his bedroom and frowned.  
“Are you sure?” he asked. After what seemed to be a brief confirmation he turned to face Gwaine who nodded and then looked back to the others, who looked confusedly at the exhange. Merlin took a deep breath.  
“Arthur’s had a bit of an accident.”


	5. Cat out of the bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The knights and Gwen gets involved…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

“What kind of an accident?” Leon asked sharply and, when Merlin didn’t answer, he stepped forward threateningly. “I said, what kind of an accident?” he repeated, his voice a dangerous growl now. “Where is the king?”  
“Hey!” Gwaine stepped in. “Back off! It’s not Merlin’s fault.”   
As the two knights stared each other down, Arthur had made his way into the room. It was Gwen who noticed him first.   
“There’s that cat again” she remarked puzzled and both Merlin and Gwaine snapped around at the sound of her voice and stared, first at the large ginger cat now sitting on the table, and then at each other. 

“You might as well tell them the whole story too, Merlin.” At Merlin’s hesitant look Arthur impatiently added “I’ll order them not to throw you in the dungeons or whatever else they might think of. Go on then.”  
“Yes sire, because they’ll surely believe me when I tell them you said that” Merlin replied sarcastically.   
Everyone in the room with the exception of Gwaine stared at Merlin, as he not only spoke to the cat like it was the most natural thing in the world, but also addressed it as “sire”.   
“Is Merlin… all right?” Percival discreetly asked Gwaine who nodded.  
“Yes, he’s fine.” He turned to Merlin. “Well Merlin, it looks as if the cat is out of the bag so to speak” he smirked and Arthur hissed angrily. “Calm down, princess” he winked and attempted to pat Arthur on the head but pulled back his hand quickly when Arthur threw out a paw threateningly.   
“You’ll have to tell them, but don’t worry Merlin, I won’t let them take you anywhere.” For all his antics and sometimes a bit dubious reputation, Merlin knew that few people were more loyal than Gwaine and that anyone who wanted to apprehend him for sorcery would have to get past Gwaine first. Few were up for that challenge.

So he took a deep breath, and for the second time in as many days, Merlin explained all about his magic, the very secret he’d feared he would have to take to his grave, and also everything that he knew about the situation and Arthur’s current four-legged state. It was a strange feeling to be able to talk so openly about the things that he’d hidden for so long and he shifted uneasily under everyone’s intense gazing. 

Arthur also got his fair share of weird looks and intense staring and drew himself to his full height in an attempt to look more regal. Soon enough though, he found out that it was hard to look imposing when only measuring just over ten inches and disappointedly curled up in a chair instead, which was fine until Percival, distracted by Merlin’s story, absent-mindedly did almost sit down on him. Arthur hastily moved back to the relative safety of the table and made a mental note to get revenge on the large knight as soon as he was back to his normal self. If he ever would be, a small voice in his mind said but Arthur pushed the thought firmly away. They would find a solution. 

After Merlin had finished talking silence reigned. It was a lot for everyone to think about and process but Merlin couldn’t help but to feel impatient as the silence dragged out. He wanted to get started, maybe some of the others knew what to do or someone to ask or have heard of the situation before. Or the knights maybe could ride out to get Gaius home quicker…? But they just stood staring at him and he squirmed uncomfortably. Leon eventually managed to pull himself together. 

“So you have magic?” he asked and Merlin nodded.  
“And Arthur knows?” Another nod.   
“And Arthur approves?” Merlin nodded again, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. He normally appreciated Leon’s methodical and thorough nature but there was no denying that it could also be bloody annoying at times. He didn’t feel that they’d time to play hundred questions right now but he tried to be patient as the revelation of his magic had been a shock for all of them.   
“And you used your magic to disguise Arthur?”  
“Yes.”  
“And something went wrong?”  
“Yes, Leon.” Merlin found it increasingly difficult to continue to answer the incessant stream of questions politely. Seriously, would it kill the man to just take his word for it?  
“And Arthur was turned into a cat?”  
“Yes, and then turned back to normal again” Merlin said out to try to bring the conversation forward a bit quicker. “And yesterday morning he woke up and felt sick and then he was suddenly a cat again. We’ve been trying to find out a cure since then.”  
“And that cat there” Leon pointed disbelievingly at the cat, “is Arthur?”   
“Yes” Merlin said, slightly exasperated now, and Gwaine hummed in acquiescent. Arthur swished his tail and Merlin decided that it would be kinder to Leon not to translate what Arthur had just said, especially since the annoyed monarch probably would regret calling his trusted second-in-command a dim-witted idiot when he was back to his normal self. Arthur clearly wasn’t his loveliest and most patient self when worrying about possibly spending the rest of his life as a cat, and who could really blame him for that? But Merlin still thought it better to censor that particular statement to spare Leon’s feelings. 

Leon looked around him as he expected everyone to start laughing at any moment and tell him that it was all a joke. But that didn’t happen and he slowly walked over to the table and sat down heavily, next to Percival. Elyan soon joined them, elbows propped up on the table and resting his head in his hands.   
“I need a drink” he groaned.   
“I think we could manage that, but first we need to figure out to do with our little catastrophe here” Gwaine said, cocking his head to the side to indicate Arthur. 

Arthur chose, to Merlin’s great relief, to haughtily ignore Gwaine’s bad sense of humour this time and draped his long tail around his paws.   
“We have to do something, it’s only a matter of time before more people start asking where I am” he said.  
“I know that, sire, but what do you suggest?” Merlin asked. “Maybe Leon could tell everyone that you’ve gone out hunting?”  
“That is so strange” Elyan said, eyes flickering back and forth between the servant and the cat. “Can you tell him that…?” he started but was interrupted by Gwaine.   
“You can talk directly to him.”  
“Ah, right.” Elyan still seemed unsure whether to address the cat or Merlin and settled for looking in between them as a compromise. “Sire, I just wanted to say that all of us will do everything that we can to help you and…” He looked embarrassed and the rest of the sentence died away. “Just tell us what you want us to do.”  
“He says that we need to find out a good excuse for his absence until we find a cure” Merlin supplied after a brief pause.   
“Why don’t we just tell everyone that he’s ill? Gwen suggested. “That will give us a reason to keep him in here and out of sight, and we can continue to look for a cure here.”  
“And Leon can inform the council” Elyan added. Leon nodded.  
“I’ll go straight away” he said and got to his feet. “Sire, if that’s…?”  
“Tell him it’s fine” Arthur said and Merlin nodded to Leon who inclined his head and left the room. 

Percival hadn’t said a word throughout the whole afternoon but no one had deemed it strange given the knight’s usual quietness and the impact of all that had just been revealed. Realizing that the large knight sat looking down at the table and frowned, Merlin turned to him.  
“Percival?” he asked tentatively. The knight’s head snapped up at the sound of his name and Merlin recoiled a little under his piercing glare. “What’s the matter?”  
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Percival, normally calm, compassionate and friendly, all but spat out his words. Merlin shrunk back, feeling uncomfortable and a little guilty at when he saw the hurt and anger clearly visible on Percival’s face. Before anyone had the time to react, Percival had pushed himself to his feet and stormed out of the room, leaving the others to stare at the door slamming shut behind him.


	6. Betrayed?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percival feels betrayed because Merlin didn’t tell him about his magic… or is it something else that bothers him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

“I’ll go after him” Gwaine hastily went towards the door. “Don’t worry Merlin” he added over his shoulder, “he’ll come around, I’ll talk to him…” 

Elyan disappeared as well, mumbling something about getting a drink, and that left Arthur, Gwen and Merlin staring at each other.  
“Has everyone suddenly forgotten that I’m the one in trouble here?” Arthur grumbled annoyed. “Seriously, it’s like they’ve never heard anyone say they’ve got magic before…” Merlin rolled his eyes at this but let it slide, there was no point arguing with Arthur when he was like this anyway. Instead, he settled down with the book he’d been reading and tried translating a paragraph that looked promising. Meanwhile, Gwen approached Arthur.

“You poor thing” she sighed, reached out and stroked his head.  
“Don’t!” Arthur jumped back, eyes wild. “Just don’t.”  
“Gwen, he doesn’t like being petted, it makes him uncomfortable” Merlin explained. Gwen’s hand flew to her mouth when she understood what he meant and she gasped, embarrassed.  
“I’m so sorry sire, I didn’t think of… I just can’t help myself when you’re a cat.”  
“I’m not a cat!” Arthur shouted desperately. “I’m just… temporarily furry.” Merlin snorted, it was impossible not to, and Arthur shot him a foul glance. Gwen was standing with her arms hanging awkwardly at her sides looking at them both. It was a relief to everyone when Leon came back with Elyan, fortunately still sober, in tow. Before long, Gwaine returned as well and he’d managed to convince Percival to come with him. 

Merlin felt extremely uncomfortable when the large knight entered the room.  
“Percival, I…” he started but Percival interrupted him.  
“Didn’t you trust me?”  
“Yes I did, I do trust you, but it’s not that simple.”  
“But apparently it was simple enough to tell Gwaine” Percival pointed out.  
“I had to, to help me find Arthur, what was I supposed to tell him, that I was in massive trouble because I’d lost the royal cat?” Merlin desperately wanted Percival to understand the weight of the secret that he’d carried for so long for fear of his life and that it wasn’t just a matter of trust, but also that he didn’t want to put his friends in a position where they had to choose between their loyalty towards him and their loyalty towards Arthur.  
“I never wanted any of you to have to choose between me and Arthur and I feared that telling you would force you to do exactly that” Merlin explained. “Elyan, Gwen and Leon, you’ve all grown up in Camelot, and with Uther’s view on magic, even if I didn’t think that you shared it… Well, I couldn’t risk it.” He looked at them apologetically, especially Leon. “Even since Arthur found out, it was still illegal and…” His voice faded away. “And Percival, I know how loyal you are to Arthur and I could never ask of you to set that loyalty aside for me.” Percival’s face softened and Merlin felt slightly better, even though he still felt terrible for having to tell his friends that he’d lied to them all these years.  
“But you could ask that of me?” Gwaine asked playfully and Merlin elbowed him in the ribs.  
”It’s different with you Gwaine.”  
“And why is that exactly?” Percival said sharply, face sombre again.

That was when Merlin realized. It wasn’t just that Percival was angry with Merlin for not telling him about his magic, he was also angry with Merlin for telling Gwaine but not him. Percival was jealous. But why would Percival be jealous of Gwaine’s relationship with Merlin? Unless he thought that…  
“Oh.” That certainly explained a lot. Merlin looked at Gwaine. “Let’s go talk somewhere more private, all right?” he suggested and Gwaine seemed to understand since he started to drag a very confused Percival towards Merlin’s room.  
“Are those two still dancing around each other?” Arthur asked disbelieving. “I would have thought they’d gotten together by now, Gwaine’s usually not that slow.”   
“Shush you.” Merlin ordered and his finger got a none too gentle nip in return. “Ow!”

He turned towards the others.  
“Are we fine?” he asked with an apprehensive smile.  
“I feel a little hurt but I guess I understand your reasons” Gwen said and Elyan nodded in acquiescent.  
“Me too.”  
“I’m so sorry” Merlin mumbled, shoulders slumping. “Leon?”  
“About the same as those two but I’ll get over it” the blonde knight answered with s small smile and gave Merlin a pat on the shoulder.  
“I really wanted to tell you all you know…”

Percival still looked confused when Merlin entered his room. He also looked uncomfortable, which was no surprise since it was not meant to house three people, especially not if one of them was the size of a giant. But this also meant that Gwaine and Percival had to sit really close to each other on the small bed and that might work to the advantage of the upcoming conversation.

“Why don’t we get to it?” Merlin suggested and Percival visibly tensed, as if preparing for a battle, but before he had the time to say anything Merlin help up a hand to stop him.  
“The reason that I asked Gwaine for help is not that I fancy him but…”  
“Of course you fancy me Merlin, everyone does” Gwaine interrupted, more out of habit than anything else Merlin supposed.  
“Gwaine” he said warningly, doing his best to raise his eyebrow in a way that would’ve made Gaius proud, “stop it.”  
“Where’s the fun in that?” the perpetual flirt complained, sighing. Ignoring him, Merlin continued.  
“I choose to tell Gwaine for various reasons, he’s travelled much and he doesn’t share Uther’s prejudice against magic, he’s a close friend that I’ve known for a long time and… “ Merlin hesitated slightly, “he’s also the only one that I could be sure would, if he had to choose, put me before Arthur.” Percival didn’t look angry anymore, only discouraged, and Merlin started to wonder if he’d have to spell it out for him.  
“But I didn’t turn to him because we’re together, because his heart belongs to another.” Percival looked at Merlin, then at Gwaine, and back to Merlin again.  
“So, him and…” Percival stammered. “But I thought… Being so close… So you’re not... together?” Both Merlin and Gwaine shook their heads. “Then who?" he asked and Gwaine groaned.  
“I’ll give you one guess, you big oaf” he said and Percival went from confused to hesitant to smiling to blushing, all in the blink of an eye.  
“Oh” he simply said.  
“Yes, oh indeed” Gwaine answered.  
“Why didn’t you tell me then?” he asked and turned to face Gwaine properly.  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gwaine retorted and Merlin took this as his queue to leave, especially since Gwaine had taken the opportunity to place his hand casually, but just a little too high to be considered merely friendly, on Percival’s thigh and Merlin, knowing Gwaine and his reputation, didn’t really want to be around to witness what came next. 

“Why don’t I leave the two of you alone to discuss this?” he suggested and got up. “But I warn you, the walls are paper thin” he added with a wink. Percival blushed bright red but Gwaine simply threw a pillow at Merlin, otherwise unfazed. Years of experience as Arthur’s manservant had sharpened Merlin’s reflexes however, and he easily dodged the pillow and with a cheeky: “have fun!” he left the two of them.


	7. Of fealty and fish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fealty and fish for a fiercely proud, slightly purring feline…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

In his absence, Merlin had somehow been volunteered to go down to the kitchens and bring everyone supper, and at the same time spread the word that Arthur was ill and was not to be disturbed. Gwen was a sweetheart and offered to go with him to help carry the food, and he made sure to point out to the others that he wouldn’t help them punch new holes in their belts when they got fat from sitting around too much. Apparently the knights were not overly bothered by this and choose to remain by the fire and Merlin grudgingly set out with Gwen. 

Gwaine and Percival had emerged from their private conversation just in time for the food to arrive and Merlin wasn’t surprised, since Gwaine was involved it was probably deliberate. He was however, as was everyone else, surprised to see that Gwaine grabbed the biggest apple, not for eating himself but to give to Percival who accepted the gift with a faint blush. Arthur pretended to gag at the public display of cuteness but in doing so, unfortunately, he choked on a hairball and actually gagged for real. This brought on merciless laughter from the others and he retired to a corner for a while to try and retrieve at least some of his dignity. 

When Arthur returned and saw his plate his face took on a look of pure disgust.  
“Really Merlin, fish?”  
“I didn’t think that you wanted milk again, sire” Merlin mumbled apologetically and sent Gwaine into a fit of laughter.   
“We have to think of our appearances, sire” he smirked. “Wouldn’t want the royal coat of fur to get all stained and stink of sour milk.”  
“You are going to regret this so much when I’m back to normal and in charge of the training sessions again” Arthur threatened and Merlin dutifully translated what he’d just said to the knight, who didn’t look too worried.  
“Training sessions in what exactly, scratching and biting?” he grinned.   
“Oh, I don’t know, I bet he’d be really good at polishing swords as well” Elyan snickered wickedly. “All that soft fur…”   
“Silence!” Leon roared and everyone fell quiet. “This is our king” he reminded them all and Elyan at least had the decency to look apologetic, as did Percival who hadn’t participated at all. Gwaine however was still grinning widely and Gwen stood with a hand over her moth, unable to stop giggling.   
“He still deserves our respect” Leon continued, “despite his current… eh condition.” How he could say that and still keep a straight face was beyond everyone and they burst out laughing again at the statement. Arthur had, with rising agony, looked from person to person only to find them all, except Leon, laughing at him and he couldn’t stand it anymore. He was out the door and gone like lightning before anyone had the time to react. 

A deafening chatter broke loose as everyone started arguing about whose fault it was that Arthur had left and who should go find him and apologize. Merlin decided not to get involved and slipped quietly out of the room. He had an idea where he might find the king. There was a rarely used room in the west tower where Arthur liked to go if he wanted to be alone and think. The door was slightly ajar and Merlin pushed it open. Arthur was sitting on the windowsill with his back turned to the room. 

“Arthur?” Merlin said hesitantly. He made no move to turn and acknowledge his servant but his tail flicked back and forth a couple of times and Merlin took that as permission to enter.   
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed.” He hesitantly stepped closer. “We’re all sorry and we didn’t mean to make fun of you.” He sat down on the windowsill beside the cat.   
“Yeah well” Arthur answered glumly, “I guess I am a bit of a joke right now, am I not?” He looked so defeated where he sat, whiskers drooping and head hanging low, that Merlin’s heart ached and without thinking he reached out his hand and started stroking soothingly down Arthur’s back.   
“Oh, sorry” Merlin whipped his hand back as if burned when he realized what he was doing.  
“No, it’s all right” Arthur muttered. Merlin looked at him unbelievingly and Arthur shrugged, too depressed to be embarrassed it seemed. “Might as well get used to it I guess, if this is how I’m going to be from now on.”  
“Don’t say that, we’ll figure something out” Merlin tried to reassure him but he started stroking the soft fur again and Arthur leaned into his touch and started purring after a while. Merlin found it strange at first but then he told himself that it was essentially the same thing as giving Arthur a back massage when his muscles ached from training. Sort of. They sat in silence for a while.

“Why couldn’t I have been turned into a lion, or a bear or a dragon?” Arthur then asked. “I am a king, I’m supposed to be impressive, powerful, to inspire loyalty. I can’t be cute.” He spat out the last word. “How am I to ensure the respect of my men if I can’t lead them in battle?” Merlin didn’t know what to say and just sat quietly.  
“A cat will never be respected as a king” Arthur continued miserably. “If Camelot is attacked because of me, because our enemies find out what I am, I would never forgive myself. But how could I even name a successor when I can’t talk to anyone else than you?”  
“Don’t say that!” Merlin “There won’t be any need to, we’ll find a way.”  
“So you keep saying, but so far we haven’t made much progress, have we?” Merlin couldn’t deny this but he still refused to give up.   
“Gaius is coming back and he can help me translate some of the text we found, maybe he’s heard of this before or maybe he knows someone.”  
“That a whole lots of maybes” Arthur pointed out.  
“And even if you stay like this we could make it work” Merlin continued as if he hadn’t heard, “only the closest knights would need to know and…”   
“But they don’t respect me either, you saw them laughing just now” Arthur interrupted.   
“Leon didn’t laugh.” Merlin tried to be optimistic.  
“That because he’s Leon” Arthur pointed out.  
“Yeah, well…” Merlin couldn’t really argue against that.  
“Gwaine nearly rolled on the floor, and Elyan and Percival wasn’t much better” Arthur continued.  
“They’re only a bit surprised, if you only give them some time they’ll get used to it. And as for Gwaine, well, he’s Gwaine.” Merlin shrugged his shoulders and Arthur couldn’t really argue against that. Gwaine was indeed Gwaine, with flaws as well as strengths. 

“We all stand by you, sire” Merlin added solemnly, “no matter what.” Arthur nodded gratefully.  
“I know.”   
“Why don’t we go back, sire?” Merlin suggested. “Then everyone can crawl for you and beg for your forgiveness, say how sorry they are for treating you like that...”  
“The idea does hold a certain appeal” Arthur mused, feeling a lot more cheered up than he’d thought was possible given the current situation. “Let’s go.” He clambered into Merlin’s arms and perched his head on his shoulder.   
“You might as well carry me” he said in response to Merlin’s unspoken question. “I almost got caught by those serving maids again.”  
“As you wish, sire. But if we’re going to continue like this you might want to shed a pound or two.”  
“Are you calling me fat?”  
“No sire, just a little… well padded” Merlin smiled and rubbed Arthur’s belly. “And don’t you try to scratch me, I might accidentally drop you” he added warningly.   
“Don’t you know that a cat always lands on its feet, Merlin?” But soon Arthur found out that, sadly, this was apparently not the case for humans trapped in a cat’s body because he landed on his butt with a loud “Ow!”   
“Not always it would seem, sire” Merlin smirked.  
“I could have you hanged for treason you know…” Arthur grumbled, trying to decide what took the worst hit, his butt or his pride.


	8. In the (furry) flesh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyous news, frustrating setbacks and some interesting revelations…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

“Rise and shine” Merlin called out cheerily from the other room and Arthur pretended not to hear. To keep up the pretence of being ill he had to stay in Gaius’ chambers and the bed there was nowhere near a comfortable as his own. His whole back ached and he didn’t have enough room to move around properly. The sun was too bright, the room was not enough airy and Merlin was too awfully happy first thing in the morning. He groaned, grabbed the covers with both hands and pulled them over his head. That’s when he realized…   
“I’m back!“ Arthur gasped, torn between excitement and relief, jumping out of the bed. Judging by the sounds from the other room, Merlin apparently dropped whatever he was holding and came running.   
“Merlin! I’m me again!” Arthur beamed at his manservant.  
“In the flesh, so to speak” Merlin smirked from the doorway, and that was when Arthur realized that he was in fact stark naked. Hastily he yanked a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around his waist but not even Merlin’s comment could cloud his joy today.   
Leon, who’d been taking turn with the other knights to guard the door, peeked his head through the doorway when he heard the commotion and grinned widely to see that his king was back to normal.   
“Sire, it’s good to have you back.”  
“Thank you, Leon. It sure feels good to be back.” Arthur stretched and relished the feeling of standing on two legs again. “And it sure feels good to be able to talk to someone else than Merlin” he added teasingly and turned to Merlin who rolled his eyes.  
“Get me my clothes, Merlin” Arthur ordered. “And some breakfast. Some real breakfast, that is. And tell all the others to come down here.” Merlin huffed.  
“I liked you better as a cat, sire” he said and promptly ducked behind Leon to use him as a shield when Arthur attempted to cuff him over the head.

When Merlin returned a little later, with a laden breakfast tray and Arthur’s clothes in his hands, he found a welcome surprise in the hallway.   
“Gaius!” He grinned widely at his mentor. “Did you come back just now?”  
“Yes.” Gaius smiled back at him. “It feels good to be home again.” He stepped into his chambers and raised an eyebrow as he took in the books haphazardly strewn over the whole place, the remains of yesterday’s evening meal still on the table and some overturned baskets on the floor, the contents scattered. “Although I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed to see the state of this room.”   
“That” Merlin pointed at the herbs, “was not my fault.” And it wasn’t. The night before, Arthur had caught the scent of catnip again and had desperately raffled through the baskets to find it before anyone had the chance to stop him. Gaius looked at Merlin steadily.   
“I see. And the rest?”  
“That might be somewhat my fault” Merlin admitted. “But I’ll let Arthur explain. Sire?” Arthur didn’t answer and Merlin frowned. “Sire?” he repeated a bit louder and Leon appeared in the doorway looking slightly awkward, gesturing towards something in the room and Merlin took a step forward to get a better look.   
A large ginger cat sat on top of the covers that Arthur had wrapped around him only a short while ago.  
“Meow” it said miserably. Merlin looked at Gaius and groaned.   
“Oh, no. Not again.”

Gaius looked confused and Merlin hastily began to explain what had happened during the past few days when he’d been away.   
“… and then I came back with the breakfast and then he was like this.” Merlin gestured towards Arthur who was now caught under Gaius’ scrutinizing gaze.  
“Hm, I see. Seems like you’ve had your work cut out for you then” he remarked. “What happened this morning, sire?” he asked Arthur.  
“I felt dizzy and then I must have blacked out because I don’t remember anything until I woke up like this again. What is happening to me?” Arthur asked desperately.   
“I’m not really sure, sire” Gaius answered. “Last time it was the potion, now it seems that the transformation comes from within yourself.” He turned to look for a book.  
“I’ve been possessed?” Arthur asked anxiously at the same time as Leon blurted out:  
“Gaius? But how can you…?”   
“He has magic too” Merlin explained swiftly and handed Gaius the book he was looking for before the old man had the chance to say anything more about the messy state of the room. “And yes, Arthur knew” he added in answer to Leon’s unspoken question.   
“Well, now I really need a drink” the knight said feebly and sat down. 

Meanwhile Gaius had found what he was looking for and read intensely.   
“No sire, I do not believe that you have been possessed, not the way that you think anyway” he concluded but Arthur didn’t look particularly calmed by the statement and Leon went from being worried to alarmed. “I might know what has happened to you but it shouldn’t be possible, surely not” Gaius continued, mostly mumbling to himself, and opened another book.  
“Sir Leon, did you see what happened?” he then asked.  
“We talked and suddenly he looked disorientated and he didn’t seem to hear what I said to him. He started swaying and his eyes were all glossy and unfocused. And then…” Leon swallowed, “… he changed.”  
“I see” Gaius murmured, as if this was the confirmation he needed. “Merlin, could you get me that book from your room, please?” At the same time as Merlin went to get it the door burst open and the rest of the knights entered.   
“Gwen’s away helping a friend, she left early this morning” Elyan said to explain his sister’s absence and then his eyes widened when he saw the cat. “But didn’t you say that…?”  
“That he was back to normal?” Merlin supplied. “Yes I did, and he was, but now he’s apparently a cat again.” He handed Gaius the book and the old man let out a triumphant “ah!” when found the right chapter. 

“Would anyone have the decency to tell me what is happening?” Arthur demanded agitated.  
“I just needed to verify something, sire” Gaius answered and immediately drew the eyes of the rest of the knights.  
“You too, Gaius?” Gwaine asked bemused. “I guess I should’ve known” he chuckled. By now Arthur was practically bouncing with impatience.   
“What. Is. Going. On?” he growled and Gaius looked at him, mostly compassionate but also with a look of reproach for the tone of voice and Arthur immediately felt embarrassed for the way that he’d spoken. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t Gaius’ fault.   
“Sire, you’re a shapeshifter.”


	9. Shifty business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A human cat or a cat-human?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I’m just borrowing them from BBC to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I’m done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don’t make any money from writing fanfiction.

“I’m a what?” Arthur Arthur stammered.   
“A shapeshifter, sire” Gaius repeated.  
“A what?” Arthur said again, still sounding unbelieving. The knights and Merlin looked equally shocked.  
“Are you sure, Gaius?” Merlin asked when he managed to pull himself together. Gaius nodded.  
“There is no other explanation that I can think of” he answered.   
“But…” Merlin said in disbelief. “The only shapeshifters are people with...”  
“People with magic” Gaius finished the sentence for him. “Yes, I’m aware of that, but I really can’t find another explanation. All the kings’ symptoms points to this.” Merlin looked like he wanted to object and opened his mouth but seemed to think better of it and frowned instead of saying anything.   
“The only way that Arthur would be able to change between an animal and a human form is that he is a shapeshifter” Gaius continued.  
“That would explain the irregularity of the shifting and the lack of control” Merlin said thoughtfully. “I mean, Arthur’s had no tutoring on how to shift consciously or…”  
“But I’m no wizard” Arthur interrupted desperately. I don’t have… magic.”  
“It is true that most shapeshifters are magical, sire” Gaius acquiesced, “but there are some cases, very rare, in which a person without magic has the ability to shift as well.” Gaius hesitated slightly before he continued. “These are cases where magic has been used to aid the conception of a child.”  
“Oh” was all that Arthur said.  
“We would need to contact the druids for an absolute confirmation, sire, but I dare say this is the only possible way that this could have happened.” Silence fell as they all considered this. 

“But why did this happen now?” Leon broke the silence after a while. “I’ve known Arthur for most of my life and it has never happened before.”  
“I can only guess, but I believe that the potion that Merlin used, intended to change his appearance, may have triggered Arthur’s dormant ability to shift” Gaius answered.   
“But it just comes and goes” Arthur objected. How is it an ability when I can’t control it?”  
“Normally, a shapeshifter would be discovered as a small child and given tutoring on how to shift consciously between their human body and their animal form” Gaius answered. “It is something that one can control, if given the proper training.”  
“So what you’re saying is that I need to practice, otherwise I can turn into a cat anytime?”  
“I’m afraid so, sire.”   
”Brilliant” Arthur sighed. He seemed lost in thought for a while, staring into the fire quietly.  
“We’ll send word to the druids and ask them to meet me” he then said. “But it has to be a secret. No one can know about this yet.” He looked around at everyone and received small nods from everyone after Merlin had translated what he’d said. “Merlin, you should go, and take Gwaine with you” Arthur continued.   
“Seems like we have a mission, sir knight” Merlin smiled and told Gwaine. They both turned to leave and Arthur hastily added:  
“Keep him away from the bloody tavern, Merlin!” Merlin cheekily saluted him and closed the door. A second later Gwaine burst out laughing, no doubt because Merlin just told him what Arthur had said. 

“Those two” he muttered under his breath. “Right, then” he said, and Gaius translated, while turning to the others. “It seems like I’m hiding in here today as well. Leon, will you inform the council that I’m still not well?” Leon nodded and left. “Elyan, can you tell Gwen?”   
“Of course, sire.”  
“Good. And Percival, if you could…” Arthur paused and stared at the large knight. “Is that a hickey?” he asked curiously and Gaius seemed to have some trouble translating that. Percival blushed furiously.  
“I, I…” he stammered, shifting his weight from foot to foot, and Elyan laughed mercilessly at the sight of him.   
“Just go with Gwaine and Merlin” Arthur said to put him out of his misery and Percival all but ran to the door.   
“About the time they did something about it” Elyan commented, still laughing.   
“Yeah” Arthur acquiesced. “It was getting annoying to see them dance around each other like two blushing maids.” Gaius had even more trouble translating that.

Merlin returned a couple of days later and told him that the druids had agreed to meet him, if they were granted a safe passage, and Arthur couldn’t really deny them that, given his own condition and the fact that his manservant not only had magic but also used it with his whole-hearted support. The meeting was supposed to take place in three days’ time.

“So am I a human cat or a cat-human?” Arthur, now in his human form, asked Merlin later that evening as he turned the bed down.  
“Neither, you’re…” Merlin started to answer but Arthur interrupted him.   
“Yes, yes Merlin I know, I’m a shapeshifter. Arthur sighed. “But how do I explain it to people? I don’t know anything about this.” And it was true that while Gaius did his best to explain what he knew to the king, there were still many questions unanswered, and that weighed heavily on Arthur’s mind.  
“Gaius knows a lot and he’s explained everything he knows. Already with that, you know more than most” Merlin tried to comfort him but Arthur continued to stare moodily in front of him. “The druids’ knowledge of shapeshifting is even greater and they’ll be able to tell you everything you need to know” Merlin continued and Arthur turned to face him.  
“I don’t even feel like me anymore” he said quietly. “My body does things that I don’t understand and I can’t control it. I feel so… helpless.” Merlin stopped what he was doing and went to sit down beside him.   
“It will be okay” he promised. “It will be fine.” They sat together in silence for a while.  
“Well, I guess I’ll have to legalize magic now, won’t I?” Arthur then asked rhetorically with a small smile.   
“I daresay you will, yes” Merlin grinned.


	10. Meeting the druids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bad night's sleep, a good day's ride and a less dignified introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

The morning of the meeting finally came and Arthur was really nervous. He slept badly, got up long before Merlin and when his breakfast was served he only pushed the food around his plate. He changed his clothes three times, or rather, he made Merlin change them for him which the manservant did grudgingly. When he came to the stables his nervousness made his horse skitter and step on his foot and, to add insult to injury, his other foot got caught in the stirrup and he nearly fell over when the horse, scared from his shouting, tried to back away. It wasn't until Percival managed to get hold of the reins that the horse calmed down and Arthur mounted with a grimace, silently cursing his horse and his very heavy and, at times, very ill-placed hooves.  
Finally they were ready to ride and they headed out through Camelot's main gate. Merlin, knowing their way the best, rode up front beside Gwaine and Arthur followed behind with Leon at his side. Percival ended the small procession and kept looking sternly at Merlin every time he seemed a bit too friendly with Gwaine. Arthur noticed this and thought with a small smile that he wouldn't have wanted to be both slightly jealous and also in love with Gwaine, the man that flirted with anything that moved. Still, he'd seemed a bit different lately, and he'd moved much slower with Percival than he usually did. Arthur really hoped that this was more than just something casual for Gwaine because he knew how deeply Percival felt about the other knight and he'd hate to see him heart-broken. But so far things seemed to be well between the two of them and Arthur hoped it would continue like that.  
It was a lovely, sunny day and Arthur gratefully took a deep breath of fresh air. It had been far too long since he last went out riding. He'd spent most of his time cooped up in his chambers to avoid shifting form in front of anyone and before that it had been that slash to his thigh that had kept him in bed for the better part of a week, and before that it had been those negotiations that took forever and before that… It seemed to Arthur as if he'd spent more and more time in the castle the longer he'd been king and he promised himself to make sure to get out of the castle more often. But he didn't get to enjoy the ride for very long. Suddenly he started to get that feeling and immediately tensed up.  
"Oh, no" he muttered, suddenly bent over with dizziness, and Leon whipped his head around to look at him.  
"Sire?" he asked worriedly but then he understood what was happening and called out sharply at the same time as he moved to take hold of the reins of Arthur's horse: "Merlin! It's happening again." Merlin was at Arthur's side quickly and lowered him to the ground but there wasn't much that he could do. Apart from making sure that the king was safe when the shifts came it was nothing they could help him with, he'd have to learn to master his ability by himself. They stopped and knights spread out and scanned the forest for any enemies while Arthur tried to catch his breath. Merlin picked up his clothes that had fallen off and stuffed them into one of the saddle bags.  
"All right, sire?" asked as Arthur straightened up.  
"Yes" Arthur answered, trying to put on a brave face but Merlin could hear that he was a bit shaken. Luckily he'd managed to get off his horse quite fast instead of falling towards the ground and he seemed to be unhurt.  
"Can you ride, sire?" Leon asked but it was soon clear that while Arthur probably could hold on to the saddle with his claws that would ruin the leather, and they would also have to ride very slowly. So Leon led his horse instead, and Arthur was, not overly happy, tucked into Merlin's arms for the rest of the journey.  
Arriving, not only in the form of a cat, (a rather handsome on if anyone wanted Arthur's opinion, but still a cat), but also in the arms of his manservant wasn't exactly how Arthur had pictured his first official visit to the druids as a king and as they approached the village his already somewhat bad mood quickly plummeted when he saw the people who'd gathered to meet them. Merlin had this uncanny ability to know how he felt without Arthur saying anything and he guessed the reason the king was annoyed.  
"It could have been worse though, sire" he whispered to the cat and Arthur's ears twitched in annoyance.  
"Oh really, Merlin?" he said acidly. "Please do tell."  
"You could have shifted back just as we rode into the village" Merlin smirked and left a mortified Arthur to thank the gods that it hadn't happened. To arrive as a cat in Merlin's arms was bad, to unexpectedly shift back and suddenly be human, completely naked and sprawled in the arms of his manservant was… unthinkable. Arthur shuddered at the thought and Merlin's grin widened.  
"You see, sire, there are so much to be grateful for. You really need to learn to appreciate the small things in life" he said and Arthur scoffed at him, tail swishing back and forth.  
"Shut up, Merlin."  
They were met by the village elder, some young boys came to take care of their horses and then they were bidden to enter a tent and share the midday meal with the village elder and his family before talking about the matter at hand. Merlin knew much more of the customs and habits of the druids and Arthur let him take the lead for once. Besides, he thought unhappily, what could he possibly do as a cat?  
"More than you might think, young Pendragon." The voice in his mind startled him and he found the elder smiling at him, together with Merlin. He'd gotten so used to only being able to talk to Merlin and Gaius while in feline form that he'd completely forgotten that the druids could also communicate with him. Before he had the time to think of an answer the elder spoke again, aloud this time for the benefit of the knights.  
"Let us eat."  
Arthur didn't recognize all of the food but nibbled at some of the different dishes and decided that he liked it. When the plates were cleared away he was a bit disappointed, but his cat-stomach couldn't hold as much food as his human one and even if he'd really wanted to taste the fruits as well, he was just too full to manage even a small bite. The meal would've been greatly improved, however, if he'd gotten to eat it sitting on a chair instead of atop the table, and with some cutlery instead of lapping it up like a, well, cat. No sooner had he thought that before he heard the voice of the village elder in his head again.  
"Be careful what you wish for, young Pendragon."  
Then Arthur felt it again, the dizziness was upon him quicker than before and he distantly heard the others talking to him but their words made no sense to him. Then all went black.


	11. Of shifts and changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to master the feline shift that prompts a change of laws...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Slowly Arthur opened his eyes and dimly registered that he seemed to be lying on his back on the ground.   
“What happened?” he stammered disorientated. He could make out Merlin’s and Leon’s faces hovering over him and slowly felt his mind clearing as a cool cloth was gently swiped across his forehead. When he was coherent enough to take in his surroundings he quickly realized three things. 

He was in fact lying on the very hard and uncomfortable ground, not that anyone present seemed to be overly worried about the welfare of the king’s back, he was back in human form and he was completely and utterly naked. 

Flushing bright red he reached out blindly and grabbed hold of the nearest piece of fabric that he could get his hands on, which happened to be the table cloth. Arthur thanked the gods that the table had already been cleared so that he didn’t annoy his hos by breaking all his plates and hastily pulled the table cloth over him in an attempt to protect his modesty, or what little that was left of it anyway. He felt his head spinning form the hasty movement and laid back for a few seconds to regain his bearings, only to see his manservant laugh at him.   
“Merlin!” he growled warningly, not particularly humored by the situation and Merlin at least made an attempt to look contrite.   
“Sorry, sire” he mumbled, biting his lips to not start smirking again and leaned in to help Arthur sit up. 

“What did you do?” Arthur then demanded to know, in the most commanding voice that he could produce while sitting on the floor and wearing a table cloth draped around him like a makeshift toga. Arthur grimaced when he realized that there were actually only a few couple of times in his life when he’d felt less royal than he did now. Luckily even Gwaine seemed to have grasped that this was not the time for jokes and sat quietly. Arthur was a bit surprised at first, he wouldn’t have put it past the brunette knight to make fun of him, even in a situation like this, but then he realized the iron grip that Percival had placed on Gwaine’s shoulder and smirked. Finally it seemed that Gwaine had found someone that put him in his place and Arthur made a mental note of thanking Percival later. 

“Well?” he said returning to the present situation, prompting the old man to answer him.   
“I didn’t do anything, nor did anyone else here” the old man answered. “But you wished that you could have had your meal sitting at the table like a human, sire, and your body reacted when you made that wish, turning you back to your human body.” Arthur tried to wrap his head around this.   
“So I shifted consciously?” he asked hopefully.   
“Not completely consciously it would seem” Merlin quipped, unable to hold his tongue any longer, and indicated the table cloth that Arthur was wearing. Arthur glared at him in return.   
“Find me my clothes, Merlin” he hissed and Merlin surprisingly smiled at the order. He muttered a few words, his eyes flashed briefly in gold and Arthur gave a yelp of surprise when he realized that he was no wearing the very same clothes that he’d put on that morning.   
“You see, sire, there are some advantages to being able to use magic openly” Merlin said jokingly but Arthur knew that there were also a great deal of seriousness behind that statement. 

Ever since he’d found out about Merlin’ magic by accident, they’d worked to be able to lift the ban on magic one day. The knights looked a bit stunned at the blatant use of magic that had taken place before them and Arthur wasn’t surprised of their reaction. This was why he wanted to work towards legalizing magic slowly and take it step by step. He knew that Merlin trusted him to stand by his promise to lift the ban, but he also knew that he grew impatient at the slow pace that Arthur had adopted, even if he tried to hide it. He would never force Arthur too move faster, he was much too loyal for that, but it made Arthur ill at ease to see how frustrated the warlock was. But at the same time he felt that he needed to thread with caution since Uther’s laws on magic had been firmly in place for many years and many shared his opinions of magic. 

But he also needed to take into consideration his own situation, now that it was revealed that he was a shapeshifter he would need to change the laws quicker than he would have wanted to, unless he wanted to go down in history, not as the once and future king but as the once and future hypocrite. He was going to need help to do this properly and he would not only need Merlin’s help but also the help of the druids. 

So how to lift the ban on magic and how to draft the new laws on magic was discussed, but first and foremost Arthur needed to learn how to not turn into a cat every five minutes at the most inconvenient of times. Therefore, he left Merlin, along with Leon and Elyan, to discuss how best to legalize magic with some of the druids while he received tutoring in how to master his shapeshifting ability. Percival and Gwaine had disappeared somewhere and Arthur decided that he didn’t want to know what they were up to. 

He spent the afternoon growing more and more frustrated. He was grateful for everything they told him and realized that once he’d had the time to process everything it would be very valuable information for him to have. The practice however was not successful at all and by the end of the day Arthur doubted that he’d ever be able to regain control over his body. His hosts seemed to understand the need for him to be alone and arranged for him to have a private meal with only the knights and Merlin. Arthur felt miserable and mostly pushed the food around his plate.  
“At least now you get to eat is sitting at the table” Merlin said encouraging.  
“Shut up, Merlin” Arthur barked at him and Merlin looked down, surprised and hurt.   
“That was uncalled for, sire” Leon chastised him and Arthur did feel ashamed the way he’d spoken but instead of apologizing he lashed out at Leon.   
“I treat my servants as I see fit, sir knight” he hissed and Leon stiffened instantly.   
“Of course you do, your highness” he said and stood up. “Excuse me.” He bowed his head briefly and left the tent. Arthur glared angrily after him and then turned to look at the remaining knights.   
“What about you, do you have anything to say about how I handle things?” he spat out and Elyan and Percival quickly backed down, glancing apologetically at Merlin. Both of them had, just like Leon, too much respect for Arthur to contradict him, even if they thought what he did was wrong. Gwaine however, did not.   
“Watch it” he growled. “Princess or not, have a go at Merlin and you’ll have me to answer to.”  
“I wouldn’t do that Gwaine” Arthur retorted, voice dangerously low.   
“Or what, princess? Going to throw me in the stocks? Or meow at me maybe?” Gwaine taunted and Arthur snapped at this and, in a fit of rage, threw a punch at Gwaine. 

Gwaine flinched and moved to deflect but before the blow landed some sort of shield seemed to appear between the two of them, forcing Arthur to step back.   
“Stop it!” Merlin screamed and then looked down as all eyes turned to him. “I just… I won’t let you hurt him Arthur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note
> 
> Sad as it is, all good things come to and end at some point, and also this story...  
> I pretty much have the last chapters planned out and written but if there is something that you would like to happen in the story, just leave a comment about it and I'll see if I can fit it in :-)


	12. Moving on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to make peace with the past and step into the future, in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Seeing Merlin standing there, hands stretched out in front of him and concentrating on upholding the shield that separated Arthur from the rest of them, with defiance and sadness in his eyes felt like a sharp kick to Arthur’s guts. Suddenly he realized what he’d done to them and how he’d treated all of them, just because he felt miserable about himself. And all they’d tried to do was to help him. He felt like the lowest of lowlifes and slumped where he stood.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t…” His voice faltered and he reached out towards Gwaine. “Gwaine, I’m sorry, I wouldn’t…”  
“Don’t worry about it” Gwaine gruffly responded.  
“And Elyan, Percival, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t treat you like that. And Merlin…” Arthur looked even more ashamed of himself. “I know you were only trying to help, I…”  
“Was a downright prat” Merlin supplied sharply.   
“Yes, yes I was” Arthur admitted straight away and Merlin’s eyes softened a bit. It seemed that he deemed it safe to release the spell because he lowered his hands.   
“I’m sorry” Arthur said again. He could see that Merlin was still hurt but he knew he’d get over it with time.   
“I need to find Leon” he said and turned to leave. “I’m really sorry, I’ll just…” His voice trailed off and he gestured vaguely towards the tent opening before stepping outside. 

“Well, wasn’t that an eventful evening” Gwaine remarked when the king had left the tent. “I daresay I didn’t expect that. That’s the most times I’ve heard princess say sorry for the whole time that I’ve known him.” He propped his feet up on the table and slouched back in his chair comfortably. Percival on the other hand looked very uncomfortable and kept glancing uneasily at Merlin, and when Merlin looked back at his he averted his gaze quickly. Merlin sighed.   
“Why don’t we take the opportunity to stuff our faces while Arthur’s gone?” he suggested in an attempt to lift the mood.  
“Well, you certainly don’t hear me complaining” Gwaine pitched in, grabbed the nearest plate and started to fill it but stopped when Percival made no move to join in.  
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous because…” Gwaine started but was interrupted by Percival.   
“I should have defended you” he blurted out, shoulders hanging and avoiding meeting Merlin’s gaze. “I’m sorry.” Elyan’s face bore a similar expression while Gwaine rolled his eyes.   
“For the love of…” he muttered and Merlin elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.  
“Don’t think about it.” Merlin turned to the other knights. “Seriously, I mean it” he insisted when the both of them still looked guiltily at him. “It was Arthur that was acting stupidly, not you.”  
“But this is hard for him.” Leon said, having returned to the tent without anyone noticing. When he heard what Merlin said, he jumped straight to the king’s defense.   
“He is under a lot of pressure but he still acted out of line” Merlin said. “You have to stop being too loyal, Leon.” Leon’s frown deepened and turned to leave but Merlin grabbed his arm. “I didn’t mean to be rude. But you are so loyal to Arthur that you sometimes overlook things that you wouldn’t have accepted from anyone else.”   
“He’s my king” Leon simply answered, yanked his arm free and then left again. Merlin sighed again and passed a hand over his forehead. So it was to be one of those nights, he thought grimly. He admired Leon’s loyalty but sometimes he wished that the knight would dare to criticize Arthur more. Luckily the others didn’t make a fuss about it and they moved to serve themselves of the food instead. As they ate most of the tense atmosphere dissolved and Merlin decided to talk to Leon later. 

Meanwhile Arthur had searched through the village and finally found Leon. The knight was standing at the outskirts of the small village, looking out over the lake and seemed deeply in thoughts. Leon must have heard him approaching but he didn’t turn around or say anything. Arthur squared his shoulders.  
“Leon?”   
“Yes, sire?” Leon’s voice was flat and he still didn’t turn. Arthur winced a little but at the same time he knew that he probably didn’t deserve Leon making things easier for him.  
“I’m really sorry” he said and tried to put every bit of guilt and sincerity into his voice, to make Leon understand how bad he felt about what he’d done. Leon simply nodded at this but Arthur could see that his shoulders were less tense and dared to step up to stand beside the knight.   
“I’d never do anything to Merlin” he continued. “Or the rest of you.” Leon still didn’t answer but Arthur could definitely see that he was warming up.   
“Please, I’m sorry.” Arthur hated that he sounded so desperate but he couldn’t bear one of his closest and most trusted knight and friend turning his back on him. “I know it’s not an excuse but this whole situation, it’s too much, I don’t know what to do… And Merlin, even though he helps, he seems to think it’s some kind of joke.” Leon turned to face him.  
“Maybe Merlin’s magic makes it a bit difficult for him to realize how hard this is on you?” he suggested. “You can’t blame him for that, sire, magic is natural to him. And he’s waited a long time to be able to stop hiding it.”  
“I know, but it’s not natural for me.”  
“I know. Trust me, I of all people should understand” Leon grimaced when imagining what it would be like to grow up with Uther with his views on magic as a father and then realize being a shapeshifter. “But haven’t you thought of everything that you can do, sire?” Like what, licking myself? Arthur moodily wanted to answer but he didn’t say anything and shook his head instead. He figured that he’d already filled his temper tantrum quota today.  
“No?” Leon asked. “Haven’t you even thought about all the conversations that you can listen to, you can get to know what people really think of you, you can spy on people, sneak up on them, and you can hide really easily. Haven’t you even considered this, sire?” Arthur’s wide open mouth suggested that he really hadn’t and Leon chuckled at the sight.   
”Maybe that will be something to think about next time you’re feeling frustrated?” he suggested and Arthur nodded sheepishly. It was at times like these that he felt exactly the way he had when he was younger, Leon patiently explaining something to him and all he wanted to do was to hurl his practice sword across the field and stomp his foot because he felt stupid for not having figured it out himself.   
“What did I ever do to deserve you Leon?” he asked and Leon caught him in a headlock.   
“What grievous sins did I ever commit to deserve to be stuck with you, you mean” Leon grumbled, mock-annoyed, and rubbed his knuckles roughly over Arthur’s head before an impromptu wrestling match ensued and both of them ended up laughing on the ground.

When Arthur and Leon returned, the plates were as good as licked clean and Arthur scowled momentarily before he saw that someone, probably Merlin, had set two large plates aside for them.  
“I’m nice again” Arthur declared to the assembly and Gwaine snorted. Arthur pretended not to hear him and continued.  
“I’m sorry, again, that I was such an…”  
“Arrogant, pratty idiotic clotpole?” Merlin pitched in and Arthur raised an eyebrow.   
“Don’t push it, Merlin” he grumbled. “But yes, I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier.” Merlin smiled.   
“I’m sorry too. I know this is difficult for you and Gwaine and I,” Merlin elbowed Gwaine who straightened up and tried to look contrite, “… and Gwaine and I are sorry that we’ve been a bit hard on you. And Leon…” Merlin turned towards the blonde knight who held up his hand.  
“We’re good, Merlin. We were both a bit right in what we said, yeah?” he said with a smile and Merlin nodded and smiled back relieved. Arthur looked around at everyone.   
“So, are we good?” His question was met with nods and he sat down at the table. “Thank gods, I’m starving. Merlin, bring me some food.” Merlin rolled his eyes and turned to get the plate but then he seemed to remember something. He stopped, murmured a quick spell and the plates soared through the air and landed neatly on the table.   
“Show off” Arthur muttered and tucked in. 

When his plate was as empty as the others he leaned back contentedly. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed now and they’d talked about how they’d spent their respective afternoons.   
“Where were you two?” Arthur asked, suddenly remembering Gwaine’s and Percival’s disappearance.   
“Percival got kidnapped by a bunch of kids” Gwaine smiled. “They didn’t let him go until he’d played with them.”  
“And Gwaine couldn’t stop showing while practicing so he got a bunch of teenagers on his heels, demanding lessons in hand-to-hand combat” Percival countered.   
“And you taught them?” Arthur asked a little surprised.  
“Of course. Wouldn’t want to deprive the young ones of my vast wisdom” Gwaine answered pompously and then turned serious. “They don’t train combat skills at all. Maybe those who want to could come to Camelot to train, and at the same time teach us about magic defenses. Maybe they could even become knights?”  
Arthur looked even more surprised and Gwaine quickly noticed.   
“You thought we were off somewhere to shag each other’s brains out, didn’t you?” he smirked and Percival blushed crimson red and tried to cuff him over the head.  
“Well…” Arthur sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.   
“I’m hurt princess.” Gwaine dramatically put his hand over his heart. “I’m a changed man now.”   
“I’ll believe it when I see it” Elyan muttered and the rest of them snickered.   
“And also, I couldn’t convince Percival, he said it was too many children around” Gwaine continued winking and Arthur rolled his eyes.  
“A changed man indeed” he muttered. But it was an interesting idea and he would definitely give it some thought.


	13. The coming of Mittens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling back to Camelot to start implementing some changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

They stayed with the druids for some days and Arthur was relieved to notice that the work that he’d put in was starting to pay off. He still had a long way to go but he now felt confident that he’d get there eventually. Merlin was giddy with excitement, both from being surrounded by other people with magic and from the fact that Camelot would soon be a country where magic was no longer illegal, but he still found the time to help with the drafting of the new laws and Arthur’s training. The knights provided a valuable perspective to the new laws as well but since it was only Leon that had some actual experience at drafting laws he was the most involved with the work. The rest of the knights found themselves surrounded by kids and middle aged men and everything in between who wanted to learn hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting and archery. 

When the time came to leave, they all felt genuinely sad to go. But there was still one question that Arthur wanted answered before leaving.   
“Why is my shift a cat?”  
“There are many different explanations as to why a person has a certain animal shift.” The village elder left it at that and refused to answer in more detail.   
“That is another story for another time, young Pendragon” was all he said when Arthur insisted. “Focus on practicing what you’ve learnt for now.”

“But why a cat?” Arthur asked again, as soon as they were out of earshot form the druids. “Come on, Merlin, they must’ve told you something.”  
“No they didn’t, sire, all they said was that a person’s animal shift is supposed to complete their human one. You should ask Gaius.”  
”Well, what does that mean then? The complement thing?” Arthur pressed for more information.   
“Maybe that you need to be petted more, sire?” Merlin suggested lightly. “It’s more likely to happen when you’re all cute and fluffy.” He ducked out if the way as Arthur attempted to smack him over the head. “I know, I know. Shut up.”  
“You guessed it, Merlin.” 

The days were colder now and they had to share their bed rolls to keep warm during the nights. Leon complained loudly that Elyan hogged all the blankets and Gwaine smugly took the opportunity to announce to everyone that he actually didn’t need any blankets at all because Percival was so incredibly hot. Arthur, in feline form, got his revenge by sneaking a dead mouse into one of Gwaine’s boots and laughed to the point of crying when the knight jumped three feet in the air when putting his boots on in the morning and fell over, cursing loudly. 

Arthur managed to spend most of their trip in human form and they travelled swiftly. When his concentration momentarily slipped he suddenly found himself four-legged again but he didn’t mind that much, seeing that one of the others would take care of his horse and Merlin would take care of him. So he settled down for a nice little nap in Merlin’s arms and let Leon worry about bandits for a while. The last evening before arriving in Camelot they spent discussing strategies and plans until Merlin started yawning loudly and everyone realized how tired they were, prompting them to turn in for the night. 

Percival awoke and sat up abruptly when someone brushed against his shoulder. He tried to warn the others but before he had the time to say anything a hand snuck around from behind and covered his mouth. He struggled briefly until he felt soft strands of hair tickle his face and he realized that the attacker was in fact Gwaine.   
“Quiet” he whispered and slowly removed his hand, nodding towards the other side of the fire. “Look.” Percival straightened up and his shoulders started shaking at the sight before him. Gwaine hastily put his hand back over his mouth.   
“Don’t” he breathed warningly. “This is too god to miss.”

This was Arthur and Merlin, both deeply asleep. Arthur had apparently shifted during the night and was now curled up like a fluffy, furry ball on Merlin’s chest, purring loudly.   
“Oh, the blackmail material that I’ve gathered during this trip…” Gwaine whispered. “This is gold, Percival, pure gold.” Unfortunately Percival couldn’t keep from barking out a laugh at this and Arthur’s eyes flew open. When he realized that his pillow was in fact his manservant he yelped and jumped to the ground, causing Merlin to wake up and sleepily start moving around.   
“Whatsgoingon?” he mumbled.  
“Princess here decided to use you as a pillow. It was cute” Gwaine smirked. “Ow!”   
“Watch it Gwaine” Arthur said smugly. “You don’t want to be clawing for attention like that.” 

When they arrived back to Camelot Arthur was still a cat and, since he couldn’t really guarantee that he wouldn’t suddenly be standing in stark naked human form in the middle of the courtyard, Merlin and Arthur snuck in through a side door and left the knights to deal with the horses. Arthur had Leon call for a council meeting the first thing in the morning and then went to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head, as well as the rest of his body, hit the pillow since it was perfectly cat sized and very soft and fluffy. 

The next morning his nerves were in a messy knot in his stomach and it was hard to eat the breakfast that Merlin had brought him. Merlin looked torn between anxiousness and happiness and didn’t seem to know which foot to stand on. He bumbled around the room, babbling nervously and before long Arthur threw him out to try to collect his thoughts. They had already talked through everything, planned everything and Merlin was just making him more insecure with his constant chatter. He was better off talking Gwaine’s ears off instead. Arthur still hadn’t forgiven him for the catnip that had somehow wound its way into his saddlebag, but on the other hand, the dead frog that Gwaine had found on his pillow just might make up for it. Just might though… 

When they met outside the council chambers a little later they both looked calmer but Arthur suspected that they’d not fool anyone who knew them too well. He turned to the knights, who had just joined them, and Merlin. 

“It’s time.“ Together they walked into the council chambers, Merlin behind Arthur and the knights flanking both of them. Arthur had ordered that the knights were not only to protect him but also Merlin in case anyone tried to attack them and he’d told them to stay close, even if he hoped that it wouldn’t have to come to that. He took a deep breath, tried to convince himself that he could do this without turning into a cat and held up his hand to stop the quiet discussions that floated around the table. 

“My lords, the reason for calling this meeting, and also to my sudden departure from Camelot, is that I have recently discovered something about myself that my father had not told me, something that has made me question some of his choices.” His words provoked a small surprised murmur from the assembled nobles. “I also have a friend that has made me question some of the prejudices that I have inherited from my father and I have realized that some profound changes are in order.” He looked around the room once, saw Merlin nod at him almost unnoticeably and squared his jaw.   
“I have decided, as of today, to lift the ban on magic.” 

Chaos erupted in the room.


	14. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone’s not thrilled about lifting the ban on magic…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Arthur looked around and saw the unhappy and angry faces. He realized with a sigh that a far larger number of the council members than he’d anticipated were still very loyal to his father and therefore wary of magic. Arthur felt slightly discouraged when he heard the furious voices in the room but after taking one look at Merlin, standing behind him and nervously biting his lower lip, he steeled himself and carried on. He could do this, if not for himself then at least for Merlin. He’d been so loyal and so patient and Arthur wouldn’t ask him to wait any longer, or make him to hide his true self anymore. He raised his hand but most of the council members were too agitated to notice.

“Silence!” he barked and the discussions quietened. “I remind you that I do not ask for your permission” he said sharply. “This is my decision and I expect you to abide by it.” His words caused a new uproar and Arthur winced inwardly at the deafening protests.   
“SILENCE!” Leon roared as if he was commanding unruly knights on the training field and silence fell abruptly. Arthur couldn’t quite keep his smile to himself, the council members were obviously not used to being addressed like this and more than a few seemed too insulted by this to even remember what was being discussed. He briefly grasped Leon’s shoulder before he continued.   
“The ban on magic is now lifted and new laws governing magic that have been drafted in cooperation with the druids are in place from now on.” He risked a small glance over his shoulder and when he saw Merlin smiling from ear to ear he couldn’t stop himself from smiling back. He turned towards the council members again.   
“Sire, if I may?” It was one of the older lords, whom Arthur had known since he was a child. He inclined his head and the man continued.  
“We are all aware that you have a more liberal view on the use of magic than your late father, sire, but I have to say that this decision came slightly as a shock to me, and to others as well I’m sure.” Muttered acquiescent and nods accompanied his words. “If I may be so bold as to ask, sire, what prompted this decision?”

So Arthur started explaining, about the magic that had been used at his conception, how it had given him some magical abilities that had not manifested until now and that he worked to learn more about it with the help of the druids. He left out exactly what his abilities consisted in since he wanted to keep the element of surprise and the advantage that it would give him, but he felt that he couldn’t leave this piece of information out entirely, since it was a part of his motivation to legalize magic. Also if the kingdom was ever to know that he was a shapeshifter he wanted to be able to completely certain that he could control it. 

Regarding Merlin’s magic he and Merlin had taken the decision together that it was better to let the lords hear the official version, rather than the castle gossip, and so he also told them about Merlin’s magic. Since he knew that there had been suspicions about his manservant and some rather unexplainable incidents he wanted to make it clear that Merlin had used his magic with the king’s knowledge and only to protect him. He also pardoned Merlin for any magic that he’d performed during the time that it was forbidden. Arthur wanted it to be perfectly clear that nobody was to punish Merlin for what he’d done and also named him court sorcerer as a way to legitimize the actions that Merlin had taken, and would undoubtedly take in the future, to protect the king. But still he saw a non-negligible amount of dark looks directed at his manservant and gestured to Elyan and Percival to be on their guard. 

After he’d finished talking silence fell. Some of the lords looked pleased, some looked angry, a few looked thrilled and some seemed downright scared. Arthur decided to leave it at that for now, he still needed to inform his knights and all the castle servants and there would be more opportunities to win the lords over, preferably when they were less shocked and more inclined to listen.

“There will be a celebratory banquet tonight and I’d be very displeased to see that anyone would choose not to attend and support the changes that have been made. That will be all for today.” Arthur concluded the meeting and left the room with Merlin on his heels. As soon as the door closed behind them the chatter broke out again. 

Arthur forced himself to put one foot in front of the other. He called for the knights and informed them. All the castle servants gathered in the courtyard and he told them as well. He went down to the kitchens and made arrangements for the evening. He received dark looks, happy smiles, muttered curses, some overenthusiastic hugs and a kiss on the cheek from Gwen. People were crying, laughing, screaming with joy, blessing the ground he walked upon and looking like their worst nightmare just had gotten real, all at the same time. It was overwhelming and when the late afternoon came and Arthur could finally retire to his chambers he was exhausted. He went straight to his bed and dropped face down on it. 

“Merlin?”  
“Yes?”  
“Remind me to never do anything like this again” Arthur groaned. Merlin might have said something but Arthur didn’t hear it. He was fast asleep. Merlin smiled, pulled a blanket over him and quietly left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter but the next one will be longer... Promise!


	15. Of new laws and sharp claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A feast for the faithful and a dungeon for the deceitful…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

The banquet was about to start and Arthur felt somewhat more alive after he’d had some sleep. Merlin helped him dress, insisting on doing so solely with magic since it was now allowed, and the result was somewhat disastrous. Merlin, who’d slept too little and spent too much time running around like a nervous colt the last couple of days, lost concentration at a critical moment and somehow turned Arthur’s read cloak into a dress. After that Arthur deemed it was better getting dressed himself and spent a considerable amount of time to do that. Then, at last, they went down to the great hall. 

Arthur knew that he couldn’t expect too much since he’d sprung this idea the very last minute, but he still wanted to have a banquet, both to celebrate the changed laws and also to give him an opportunity to share his thoughts about it with everyone invited. He wanted to provide his version, not for people to have to rely on the castle gossip, and he wanted it to be clear that from now on no one performing magic were to be persecuted. 

He ordered the kitchens to do their best with the time and the resources that they had, he told them that he wanted the evening to be memorable but that he also understood that they’d not been given the ideal conditions to provide this. But when the doors to the great hall were opened he was momentarily stunned. Something like this he could never have imagined. 

In gratitude for his act of legalizing magic, all the servants who’d had to hide their magic, or knew someone who’d been forced to, had gone out of their way to create a real feast. Garlands of flowers that Arthur knew with outmost certainty didn’t grow at this time of the year decorated the walls, hung from the ceiling and covered the tables. There was food in abundance and wave after wave of serving maids brought out new plates with different dishes, one or two of them even bold enough to murmur a quick spell to make the plates fly through the air and land on the tables. 

Cook personally delivered the largest apple pie anyone had ever seen and carefully set it down right in front of Gwaine who looked confused. It was safe to say that the affection that he held for cook, and in particular for the apples that she had in her storage room, was not mutual, and he’d been chased from the kitchen with a wooden spoon more than once. He opened his mouth and closed it again as the knights beside him all sniggered.  
“Merlin told me what you did for him” Cook said. “You’re a downright rascal, that’s for sure, but your heart’s in the right place.” She leaned over the table and smacked a loud kiss to his cheek before heading back down to the kitchens and left Gwaine speechless.   
“Should I be worried you’ll leave me for her?” Percival asked raising an eyebrow and Gwaine pushed an elbow into his side.   
“Don’t be daft” he muttered as he picked up the knife and cut himself a thick slice of the pie. After the first large bite he closed his eyes and all but moaned. “Hm, I may have to take that back. It’s fantastic.” Percival nicked the rest of the pie out of his hand, ignored Gwaine’s shouted protest and shoved it into his mouth.   
“I think that I would forgive you if you did” he said and reached out for another slice.  
“Not happening” Gwaine smiled and simultaneously pressed more pie into his hand and a kiss to his lips. 

Arthur was amazed to see so many people come up to him and thank him, to tell him about their magic and maybe even show him a small enchantment or two. He received so many handshakes, hugs, bows and curtsies that he lost count and all the time he saw Merlin’s radiant smile. It was impossible not to be caught up in the excitement and Arthur felt better than he’d done in a long time. But as the banquet went on, he was getting more tired and realized that he would soon become a cat in front of all these people if he didn’t leave. He could already feel the first signs of the shift and waved to Merlin to help him out of there without anyone getting suspicious. 

Under the guise of refilling the king’s cup Merlin came up close to his side.  
“Merlin, get me out of here” Arthur hissed and Merlin immediately understood why.   
“Act drunk” he whispered back and Arthur tossed back the contents of his cup, sloshing most of it down his front and staggered to his feet. Merlin hastily put one of Arthur’s arms around his shoulder and pretended to help him walk back to his chambers. As soon as they were safely away from prying eyes Arthur stopped acting drunk and started looking pale instead. Merlin yanked open the door to the closest empty room and hastily pushed Arthur inside. He locked the door, then turned around and met Arthur’s large yellow eyes. The cat looked a little gloomily at Merlin who sat down cross-legged on the floor.   
“I just wish I could control it better” Arthur sighed. “But I was so tired and I couldn’t stop it from happening. I would’ve liked to stay at the feast.” The last sentence was added with a pout.  
“You’ll get there, sire, if you just keep practicing.” Merlin reached out and patted Arthur’s head. “It’s already better, the transformation is easier and you’re less dizzy” he continued encouragingly and Arthur purred softly and clambered onto Merlin’s lap. “You’ll get this down in no time.” Merlin kept on stroking the soft fur and soon Arthur was deeply asleep. Merlin smiled and eased his legs away from under the cat. Arthur just opened one eye lazily and as soon as Merlin had scooped him up in his arms he was asleep again and Merlin decided it was time to take king Mittens to his chambers and put him to bed.   
“I heard that, Merlin” Arthur grumbled sleepily.   
“Of course you did, sire, especially when you have these…” Merlin said and tugged lightly at one of Arthur’s large, silky ears. Arthur pulled his ear out of reach and ignored him. 

Merlin made sure no one was snooping around before carefully stepping out into the hallway and starting to walk towards Arthur’s chambers. But when he turned around a corner a dark shadow suddenly stepped up behind him and hit him forcefully over the head. 

The attack was totally unexpected and Merlin crumpled at the floor, blood streaming down his face. Arthur had fallen from his arms and just barely managed to scramble out of the way so that Merlin didn’t fall on him. Merlin struggled to put the words together to cast a spell but his eyes were unfocused and his arms shook as he tried to push himself from the ground. 

Arthur, panicking and frustrated, tried and realized that he couldn’t change back. He was steadily getting better but now, when he easily he could have saved Merlin in his human form, he was stuck as a cat. The attacker raised his weapon again to deliver the fatal blow and Arthur reacted out of instinct. He darted forwards with a loud yowl and sunk his teeth deeply into the attacker’s ankle. The man howled in pain and Arthur bit down deeper and dug his claws firmly into the man’s flesh to hold on as he jumped around. The man kicked out violently and Arthur felt his paws slipping. With a dull thud he was hurled into the stone wall and felt himself crash onto the floor, the world spinning wildly around him. He mewled at the sharp pain that suddenly radiated from his ribs, they were most likely broken, and shook his head to try to clear it. 

His attack, brief as it was, had given Merlin some time to recover and Arthur not so much saw but felt an enormous burst of energy that slammed the attacker into the opposite wall and left him in a heap on the floor. The sounds had drawn the attention of the guards and Arthur could also see some of the knights approaching. He dimly registered that Merlin was in front of him, face worried and bloody, trying to ask him something but Arthur couldn’t really make out the words. Arthur felt himself being carefully lifted up and then lost consciousness.


	16. Long live the cat!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All's well that ends well, or the ginger age of Camelot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Waking up felt strange. Everything around him seemed gigantically out pf proportion and Arthur quickly closed his eyes for a second, pinched himself to make sure that he was awake and not still dreaming, and then opened his eyes again. Still the same. Then he realized that he was not lying in a bed but in a small basket close to the fire and that he had four legs instead of two. Well, that would explain why the table suddenly looked higher than Camelot's northern tower and that Gaius that came shuffling over to check on him seemed taller than Percival.

"How are you feeling, sire?" Arthur stood up gingerly, carefully flexing and stretching his limbs. Surprisingly enough his ribs felt fine and he was stunned to realize that he didn't even seem to have a concussion. He'd expected to feel far worse after such a fight.

"I'm fine" he said and his surprise must have shone through his voice because Gaius smiled.

"Now that magic isn't outlawed anymore I might have, eh, brushed off my old healing skills, sire" he said and Arthur laughed.

"Thank you, Gaius. Where's Merlin?" He looked around, couldn't see him, and asked again, a little worried now. "Is he all right?"

"He's fine, sire" Gaius assured him. "But he's still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up."

"Can I see him?"

"Yes, sire" Gaius answered and then added sternly "if you don't wake him up, you can." So Arthur promised to be quiet and then quickly padded over to Merlin's room. There was just one problem.

"Gaius? Can you open the door for me?" A quick word and the door swung open quietly. Arthur went inside and jumped onto the chair next to the bed.

He was soon bored. He tried to practice and change back to human but he realized that he was too tired. He tried to get comfortable on the chair and the clothes that had been in a neatly folded pile were soon turned into a nice little nest but Merlin's snoring kept him awake. Merlin's stupid neckerchief had been on top of the pile but it had fallen on the floor when Arthur burrowed himself in the pile of clothes and now he looked at it where it lay crumpled. It was tempting. Too tempting. And when a burst of wind came from the door and made the fabric flitter slightly, Arthur couldn't resist it anymore.

"Woop!" With a loud yell he jumped the neckerchief, rolled around the floor with it, chased it, smacked it away with his paw and ran after it again. He was so caught up in what he was doing that he didn't realize that Merlin had woken up and was giggling at the sight of him.

"Ahem." A polite cough from the door drew Arthur to an abrupt halt and the neckerchief that he'd thrown up into the air came to a rest on his head.

"If you don't mind" Merlin said with a half-choked laugh and picked it up, tied it around his neck, and then pulled on his tunic and breeches.

"Not at all" Arthur croaked mortified and curled into a ball, hoping to disappear.

"Sire, whenever you're quite done…" Gaius paused momentarily and Arthur winced a little when he heard Gaius' disapproving tone, "I would like to have a look at Merlin." Arthur, only too happy to oblige, all but fled from the room followed by Merlin's laughter.

He was met by the worried looks from Elyan, Percival, Leon and Gwaine. Arthur couldn't resist the opportunity, so he gleefully sauntered up to the man.

"Sir Gwaine" he said. "I hope you realize that it was in fact my scratching and biting that saved Merlin so maybe we should in fact hold training sessions in that." His point was somewhat lost however as Gwaine didn't understand him and just stared at the cat.

"How's Merlin?"

"He's fine, and so am I, thank you so much for asking" Arthur answered a little sulkily, feeling left out when they all rushed past him to ask Gaius instead. Suddenly he was yanked into the air and immediately started wriggling but stopped once he realized that it was Leon that carried him on his shoulder.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed surprised and even though Leon only heard a lot of meowing he could guess what it meant.

"Didn't want you to feel left behind" he said and Arthur settled down, trying to resist the sudden urge to play with Leon's curly hair. That would just have been too weird.

Gaius drily assured everyone that everyone involved in the incident was fine, that there was no need to come rushing into the room like a stampeding herd of oxen and that he personally would throw Gwaine out of the room if the knight didn't stop pestering Merlin. That calmed things down a bit and Leon took over and informed everyone that the attacker had been apprehended and thrown into a cell in the dungeons. Apparently the man had been certain that the king had been enchanted by his manservant and had tried to liberate him from the influence of the "cursed sorcerer" as he called Merlin. After they'd dealt with all that, the day could finally proceed as normal. Well, as normal as it could be for a shapeshifting king, his warlock and manservant and a bunch of knight regularly putting their lives on the line.

Since the story about what happened that night spread like wildfire around the castle soon everyone knew about Arthur's shapeshifting anyway, but one cat looked very much like another and he found to his great contentment that he could still move around as a cat practically unhindered. And people started to notice that the king seemed more content, more inclined to enjoy life and that he was more tactile and open with his feelings.

Looking back, the whole incident seemed to have been a bit of a turning point. The fact that the king had risked so much to save a fellow magic user had quite naturally caused anyone with magic to become even more loyal to the king, but he also gained more affection form the servants since Merlin was his manservant and the king had put his life on the line for him. Anyone who didn't approve of magic had made sure to keep quiet about it and, more than anything, it convinced everyone that the king was serious about allowing magic in Camelot and very serious about preventing any persecution of magic users.

So, all in all, things got better. There were still bumps and potholes in the road but things did get better and Camelot's relations with the druids were rapidly improving. The lives of Camelot's magic users improved, as did Arthur's control over his ability. That however, didn't mean that he got off completely without accidents.

There was that day when he forgot that he was in feline form and went past the pen of the hunting dogs. Leon had to climb the tree that Arthur had fled into and carry him down. There was also the time when he tried to sneak through the kitchens and got a bucket of cold water thrown at him courtesy of cook. Then there was the day when Arthur didn't realize that there was a maid scrubbing the floor in the throne room as he shifted. Merlin had to perform an extremely strong spell on her to erase the memory of looking up from the floor to find the king running around the throne room completely naked, desperately trying to yank down one of the heavy tapestries to cover himself with. But all in all things were good.


	17. Fur better or worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

It was almost a year since the first time that Arthur had turned into a cat and they were all out on a patrol. When they had stopped for the night and eaten, Arthur assigned himself the first watch since he wanted some peace and quiet and the rest of the knights went to bed while Merlin went to check on the horses. Arthur wasn't surprised when Gwaine and Percival sought him out, he'd noticed that something was going on since Gwaine had been unnaturally quiet the whole day. That was normally a sign that he either was up to something or a cause for worry.

"Sire?" Gwaine sounded uncharacteristically hesitant when Arthur turned around and motioned for him to keep talking.

"We wanted, that is to say, if you would, but we wouldn't have thought, you would probably not mind, if it's all right…"

"We wanted to ask for your permission to marry, sire" Percival interrupted in his deep voice, when Gwaine kept sputtering, stammering and generally not making any sense at all.

"Oh" Arthur was surprised, but mostly pleased. They were in no way obligated to ask for his permission but it was expected of the knights to do so since a marriage would inevitably bring consequences affecting their service.

"Of course" Arthur continued and couldn't keep himself from grinning widely when the pair in front of him started kissing passionately. Catcalls were heard from around the campfire and Arthur sent them back with a playful shove.

"Oh, get a room you two" he joked.

After they'd left, hand in hand, Arthur was left alone with his thoughts again. Merlin saw him standing there thinking and went to keep him company.

"So, Gwaine and Percival huh?" Arthur said and Merlin grinned.

"Yeah. About time they got it done" he answered, eyes twinkling and then his expression softened as he fondly added: "They deserve to be happy."

"More like, Gwaine deserves someone that keeps him in line" Arthur muttered but he smiled at the same time and Merlin laughed.

"That's true" he acquiesced and then they stood in comfortable silence for a while.

"How do you feel, sire? About… everything?" Merlin asked and Arthur had to think for a while.

"Good, I think" Arthur said, a little surprised himself. "I feel good. This is who I am now, you know?"

"Yes" Merlin acquiesced. "Fur better or worse, I suppose" he smirked and Arthur groaned.

"Shut up, Merlin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading and commenting on this story.  
> I had so much fun writing it and I hope that you liked it as well :-)


End file.
